


where we belong

by lesbiansofkyoshi (ranpoandpoe)



Series: A:TLA Femslash Week 2020 [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, F/F, First Kiss, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25880980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ranpoandpoe/pseuds/lesbiansofkyoshi
Summary: Mai and Katara knew each other from class, but nothing else. No closure, no anything, except a common enemy: a town that’d been a bore for them since birth.
Relationships: Katara/Mai (Avatar), minor past mailee
Series: A:TLA Femslash Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874047
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	where we belong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Atlaworld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atlaworld/gifts).



> atla femslash week - day 4: road trip
> 
> it was kinda hard to come up with a plot for a road trip fic because it isn't something i'm used to write but here it is! hope you enjoy :)

One car, a few clothes and cash — was all they needed to get away from that small town where nothing important ever happened. At least, that was the conclusion Mai and Katara got after two stolen beers during detention. 

They were very different, the two of them: a girl with an older brother in college and a rich politician’s only daughter who didn’t like anything specifically. They knew each other from class, but nothing else. No closure, no anything, except a common enemy: a town that’d been a bore for them since birth.

They made an extremely detailed plan for their breakaway, so nothing could go wrong. By five in the morning, Mai would leave her house with one of her dad’s cars: he had too many of them to notice one was gone soon. The back of the car would already be full of clothes and cash; then, she’d stop by Katara’s place to pick her up. 

So there she was. Punctual enough, Mai stopped the car in front of Katara’s building by 5:20. Everything had been previously timed by the girls, so it was a matter of seconds ‘til she could see her classmate (and detention colleague,  _ and  _ getaway partner). 

“Right on time,” Katara commented with a grin as she closed the door and threw her bag with clothes and the few money she had saved on the backseat. 

“Of course I am. I can’t wait to leave this hell of a town.”

Katara didn’t need to reply: Mai already knew she agreed. Then, they both took the road and left the city while watching the sun rise on the horizon.

* * *

It was midday when they decided to stop by somewhere to get some sleep and think about another plan. The first place they’d seen was a small, dirty motel where 17 year olds shouldn’t be allowed, but there weren’t many minds that couldn’t be changed with some green paper, and of those Mai had plenty.

So they carried their baggage to the third floor, not trusting anyone from the hotel to help them. 

“Only one bed?” Katara raised an eyebrow. “I’ll ask for us to-”

“No,” Mai interrupted. For the sake of her blank expression, she had thought about a plausible explanation as soon as she ordered a room with only one bed. “We have a lot of money now, but we should save. We don’t know for how long we’ll be on the road, and we can damn well share a bed to save a few bucks. I mean, neither of us are horrifying.”

Katara seemed to consider the idea for a few seconds, then nodded. “The last part didn’t seem that… mandatory, but I’m glad you think so and the feeling is mutual.” Mai turned her face around so her… roommate, wouldn’t see the blush in her cheeks, but it was useless. Luckily, she decided not to comment on it; instead, she just continued to organise the things she’d brought with a provocative smile. 

It was still nine, and even though they didn’t exactly have a reputation (both had left it alongside mostly everything back in the town), they still wanted to preserve it to each other, so  _ of course,  _ as 17 year old teenagers, they wouldn’t go to bed early.

“How’s life as…” Katara hesitated before continuing. “An only daughter?”

“You can say ‘as a rich, spoiled girl’, I don’t mind. It’s the truth anyway.” Mai sighed, thinking about ways to describe the life she had before. She couldn’t even recognise which were the privileged parts, and which were just stereotypical teenager things. It was hard, since that was all she knew, but maybe running away from that lifestyle would help her figure that out. “When your family has money and is… powerful, you can’t quite put your finger on  _ what’s  _ different, because we are friends with the children of our parents’ friends, so that is all we know. That’s why I’m so sick of it.”

Katara thought about offering herself to teach her the ‘ordinary girl’ life, but she didn’t want to talk about herself at the moment: she preferred listening to what the pretty girl next to her had to say. So instead, she asked, “Which part of it?”

“It was all I knew.” Mai answered, unconsciously avoiding eye contact. “I might even want that life, but I want to have a choice first. Choosing blindly isn’t really my style.”

“Neither should it be.” During the conversation, they didn’t even notice that they’d gotten closer and closer to each other, like magnets. Katara had a smile of agreement in her lips and Mai couldn’t stop looking at it. Sharing a bed with her surely wouldn’t be an issue.

* * *

When they woke up, hands on each other in a tight embrace, they left as quickly as they arrived, but not without putting all the money in a bank, dividing them equally amongst the two. 

While having lunch at a restaurant at their third stop, they could see their friends and family on the television, and that was when it was decided that their meals would be bought at drive throughs until they found somewhere nice, far enough from the town.

Mai tightened her grip of the steering wheel, thinking about the previous night. Katara’s bed hair, her own hand around her waist, the other’s face finding support in her chest. Those were the first things she’d seen in the morning and the realisation put a blush in her cheeks. Did Katara notice? Did she wake up in the middle of the night and saw the embrace they were in? Or even, did she  _ consciously  _ put her head over her breast?

No, no. It wasn’t safe to have such thoughts while driving a car. Especially as an inexperienced driver. Mai took a deep breath and did her best to focus on the road and not on Katara’s hand tapping on her thigh or the way she put a hair strand behind her ear every time it fell from it- 

Wait,  _ no.  _ Mai needed self control, or something else that could help her focus. “Do you have any music to play or can I put my Spotify on shuffle?”

“It’d be interesting to know which sound a rich, pretty, and popular girl like you enjoy, so. Go ahead.” Mai absolutely hated the way Katara managed to turn everything into something that’d make her lose focus. Or, maybe (possibly), her mind was the one doing that: twisting every act, every word, so it’d look like a flirty one.

Without answering, Mai did as she suggested. The first one was a song from Taylor Swift, something that she knew was Ty Lee’s influence. Ty Lee, her first crush and lesbian awakening. She’d miss her.

“Oh?” Katara reacted, raising an eyebrow. Maybe it was the memory of her old crush, maybe it was the teasing from her  _ current  _ crush, but Mai’s face turned red.

“Shut up, okay? A friend put it there.” She skipped the song,  _ ‘Enchanted’, _ as if she didn’t want to listen, even though she knew the whole lyrics. The next ones were classical music, such as Beethoven and Mozart. Her parents made sure she had an artistic education by assigning her to piano classes and, although Mai would never admit it due to her cool kid image, she rather enjoyed the way the sounds managed to portray feelings and situations without a word. She even felt a little jealous, because she couldn’t express herself properly with or without them.

The next one that played was a K-Pop girl group, also a recommendation from Ty Lee that didn’t leave Mai’s playlists. “I thought your playlist would be more… edgy.” Mai wasn’t sure if she was teasing or not.

“Don’t worry, we’ll eventually get to the My Chemical Romance part of the library, just be patient.”

Katara then laughed and Mai’s cheeks became red (again). “I also didn’t think you’d be this funny. No offense, but even though you’re really hot, you don’t look like the kind of person who has a constant sense of humor. It might be the resting bitch face.”

Yes, Mai had been told that her physical appearance didn’t scream  _ “I like fun!”  _ and she wasn’t exactly bubbly, but she knew how to enjoy fun things once in a while. “I’m sure there are many things about me you never thought about.”

“Oh, without a doubt!” Katara then got closer to Mai. Not considerably, but the driver was painfully aware of every inch between them. “I would’ve never thought you’d look so cute and peaceful in your sleep. Just like an angel!”

Mai immediately stopped the car. Theirs was the only car on the road, so they could enjoy luxuries like that. “So. You saw.”

“Yeah, I did. I usually wake up at night for some water.”

Was it on purpose? “Oh.”

“Your chest looked very comfy.”

“Oh-  _ what?!”  _ Luckily, Mai had already stopped the car, or else… she didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened otherwise.

Katara was so calm and her smile was so collected that Mai wanted to punch her (on the lips. With her lips.) “Oh, you know it. You weren’t wrong when you said that neither of us were horrifying, so sharing a bed wouldn’t be an effort. It was very easy. Also, you smell good! Which soap did you-”

“Can I kiss you?”

Mai could swear that she’d never seen a bigger grin on Katara’s face than at that moment. “Gosh, it took so long! I was wondering how much longer I’d have to talk for you to ask.”

And that’s how they found out that they truly didn’t belong to the small town they’d been born in: they belonged in each other’s arms, kissing in the middle of a dusty, empty road. 

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to follow me on twitter as @yukisayochisas ig


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